I don't mind the harsh light too much but lack of a visible head and the clipped wing tips hurt this one for me. I do like their position near the little stream. It gives me a sense of a boundary for the territorial dispute you reference.
Sharpness and interaction are good, as mentioned it would have been better if you would have been more to your right and the bird on the left were not clipped. The image looks a bit dark on my monitor.
Mital: considering the lighting conditions, you did well, and the shadow transitions aren't as severe as I would expect. Must have been mediated by reflections off the water, or at least some cloud cover. However, as already stated, the wing hiding the birds head is a serious problem. The clipped wing tip is easily rectified, but there is no getting around the lack of a visible head. Yet, even if it were visible, it likely would be facing away. Hard situation, and angle of capture. Nontheless, your depth of field covered it well, but a more right/left bird orientation might have been better. The head of the right hand bird, almost facing directly foward, isn't ideal either, though this angle does work well with close-ups, here it makes the head look unusually small.
Exposure is somewhat under, you should be able to increase it without blowing the whites. A vertical orientation would have worked here as well, yet switching to such a camera orientation during shooting action like this often results in serious clipping. However, if you get it right it is worth the risk.
Keep up the good work ~Bill
I agree with others that the head of one being hidden is a problem. Otherwise it is a good capture of a dramatic moment. Some selective work with curves would bring the birds out more dramatically.
Great Egret - Fight
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